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Comment by jamesjyu | Hacker News Reader

People who know my previous comments might think I sound like a broken record -- but, this is the exact reason why I love having a table tennis table at the office. It's the perfect distraction to coding that focuses on pure reflexes and hand-eye coordination.

After a game of ping pong, my mind is usually cleared and can tackle the next problem. Lots of +1's to the idea of zoning your brain out of the problem area for a while to get your subconscious working.

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Going for a bike ride works well for me. I know the roads around my house & office quite well, so I can be on semi-autopilot, riding with just enough focus on my surroundings that my backbrain can still mull over a problem. Or, I can ride hard and grind out a stressful afternoon. Either way, it's a good time for inspiration to strike. (Weightlifting is great, too.)

My office is big on darts, but that doesn't get the blood flowing in the same way as ping pong or cycling. :)

We also have a ping pong table at work. Aside from the the benefits of weaving some exercise into the routine of staring at screens all day, the best thing we've observed so far is that it's a social activity that requires very little setup (just pick up the paddles and go) and has a very low entry barrier (many of us either never played or did so many years ago).

The end result is that people in the team got to know each other the quickest of any place I've worked at (and new team members integrate in no time), which also resulted in people working really well together.

Funny thing is that we also have a Wii which was bought the same day as the table, but only saw playtime the first week. After that it has been collecting dust.

I don't know, what exactly can you do during 8 * 30 minutes interruptions a day? My leisure time is mostly browsing the internet (which is usually work related) being it HN, Facebook, Reddit, or just Googlish site

Working alone from home I've found myself enjoying playing with the kids toys during a break. Last year I played a lot of swing-ball (or totem-tennis as it's also known), I recently picked up a trampoline which is great fun and incredibly energizing.

We have a ping pong table at work, but I can't say it helps me feel refreshed. I often need a breather and to cool off after one of our grueling five game matches. Of course, we might go a little overboard since we have a professional player coach us every Friday and hold our own charity tournaments. haha. work hard, play hard or something like that ;)

A professional ping pong coach? You guys are dedicated.

part of the mastery process, bro

Yes. We are. Sometimes the coach is the only reason we play for a whole week though. Needless to say, our coach does not approve. :)

Wow! That is awesome that you get a coach. I get coaching every once in a while.. but definitely not at work :)

Where do you work? If you're in the bay area, i'd love to drop by sometime for a game.

We're in AZ, but if we have a tournament again, you should come out. It's handicapped, so anyone can win. Actually, maybe we should consider having our next one in SF.

http://www.spyfu.com/docs/SpyFuOpen

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